From what I’m reading, these boys are one of the longest running Death Metal bands out of New Zealand. Having formed in early 1992, they released their first album in 1999 and have been taking names since.

The formula on “Cadaver Academy” is fairly simple: Death Metal full of fast and violent riffs and an onslaught of double bass. The net result is an album full of bad-ass riffs played with both fury and a little hint of sludge, a Death Metal & Grindcore hybrid which sounds like it was played by a bunch of violent men the day after a crank and hookers bender.

Okay, there is more to this album than a maelstrom of vicious riffing and hellish groove. The band doesn’t lose sight of the KISS mantra (“Keep it simple, stupid!”), but “Cadaver Academy” doesn’t just blindly beat up their instruments for 27 minutes. Yea, the riffs are violent and sound completely unchained, but there is also GROOVE. This album grinds and grooves, and guts and gores everything in its path.

There are also some moments on the record where the band strays from their formula slightly. Every now and then the band throws in something unexpected like a guitar solo (“Brutalised in Brutality) or a melodic riff (“Torched By An Angel”) which adds in some colour and variety into the whole. It’s a nice way of mixing it up every now and then, and it keeps “Cadaver Academy” from stagnating.

This is a simple Grindcore/Death Metal album with some unexpected moments here and there, but overall HUMAN’s goal is simply to kick ass and take names with the advent of their newest album.

Oh yea…27 minutes? THAT’S IT?!!? I wanted more of this brutality!

(Online September 30, 2009)